The Golden Boys
by lifeisclockwork
Summary: Paul Callan, Alva Keel and Evelyn Santos are all called to crack the most horrifying, strangest and personal miracle of all time. But this time, someone might not survive...
1. The Welcoming

The last of the sun's rays were glimmering beyond the black horizon, as Maggie Thompson drove up to her large house. She parked the car and she got out, dragging out heavy shopping bags, before slamming the car door shut. The tired woman staggered inside and she set the shopping bags down at the kitchen counter. The house was silent. The clock ticking in the lounge room seemed to reverberate around the large two-story, taunting the woman's painful loneliness.

Maggie ran her hand through her mousy brown hair, and slumped into a kitchen stool. The shopping bags lay at the counter, oranges and apples spilling out of the plastic white bags. Maggie rolled an apple around, lost in her misery and loneliness.

"If only..." She sighed.

Her black eyes darted over to the clock, and she gazed at it, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a movement behind brought her back to earth. Heart pounding, she spun around. Only to see...nothing. Relieved and slightly frightened, she turned back around. Then it hit her. The bright golden glow filled up the house, reaching into the darkest places of all, and casting white light on the windows. Maggie stiffened, and, trembling with fear, slowly turned around again. Yet there was nothing.

Maggie was frightened. The golden glow freaked her out. It was not just the fact that it was cast in her home in a supernatural way. It was because the golden glow was cold...and dismissive. The glow was like the darkness, unknowing and unseeing. It was taunting her and mocking her, making her heart jump every second, and sweat form on her cold and clammy skin.

"Mummy."

Maggie stifled a shocked scream and staggered back, her eyes widened with terror and her face as white as a sheet of paper. In front of her, appearing out of nowhere stood a young boy, glowing a bright golden light, and resembling her long dead son.


	2. The Truth

Few months ago, Paul Callen had died.

He had technically committed suicide to save Evelyn's son, Matthew Santos. Evelyn had not always known how far Paul would go in order to protect his friends, but afterwards, she really did see the true Paul Callen.

Paul did not have a very nice childhood, and had many terrifying memories that would haunt him as a child. Therefore, when Evelyn asked Paul to be the 'un-official' godfather for Matthew, Paul happily agreed, and was determined more than ever to ensure that Matthew had a great life.

Now as he sat thinking in the SQ headquarters, Paul was not sure _how_ he was going to carry out his goal. He did not have a father, so he did not know what a father did. Moreover, he was suffering under all the terrible and supernatural things he had to deal with nearly every day.

"I don't know. If I can't even help myself, how am I supposed to help Matthew?" He muttered, staring out of the blurry window.

His dull brown eyes sought out the black clouds that raged in the grey sky, and he ran a hand through his messy brown hair.

"Paul," Alva called from his office. "Can you come here for a moment?"

Paul heaved sigh and dragged himself over to Alva's office. He entered the forlorn room, and sat himself down on one of the hard wooden chairs that sat before the large polished desk. Alva was sitting at the desk, sifting through some of yesterday's papers.

"You called?" Paul said.

Alva looked up. "Ah yes. Paul...I needed to have a word with you about something..."

"...yes?"

"Something...rather personal." Alva finished.

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Look, Alva, if this is about those dreams, I already told you-I'm not affected by them."

"No, no. Nothing to do with Tommy or your dreams. It's about your...well...father."

Paul stared at Alva. "Alva, just in case you've forgotten, my father hasn't contacted me for over twenty years-"

"Yes, yes, I know all that. I just wanted to ask you...did he ever tell you about..." Alva trailed off, looking pained at what he had to tell Paul.

"About...?"

"About Johnson?" Alva sat back in his chair, searching Paul's face for any reaction to the name.

Paul frowned. "Who?"

Alva stood up, grabbed some files off his filing cabinet, and dropped them in front of Paul. "Johnson...Callen." He said in a soft whisper.

Paul's heart jumped and he grabbed the files, scanning them with growing confusion.

**Johnson Callen**

_**Article 75# from **__**'**__**New York Times**__**'**_

_Only yesterday afternoon, a horrible crime was being committed in the Callen household. _

_According to the FBI, Mrs. Samantha Callen, mother of Johnson and Paul Callen__, and wife to Timothy Callen, had committed a murder suicide._

_At exactly 5:46pm, __neighbors__ complained of shouting and screaming coming from the Callen household. Mr. Callen was not at home at the time. According to NYFP, Mrs. Callen was driven to hysteria and drowned her youngest son, Johnson Callen (11), in the bathtub. She then attempted to do the same to Paul (12), but the young boy managed to escape fate by running out of the house and over to the neighbor__'__s for help. Mrs. Callen then drowned herself, ten minutes later._

_Mr. Callen is currently at the New York Hospital being treated for __shock__ and Paul Callen is being treated for shock and minor injuries._

_Such a horrible crime is now alerting the public to the increasing number of homicide and criminal activity in New York._

_For the full story, turn to page 8._

_For further information about the increasing number of homicides in our homes, turn to page 5._

Paul stared shocked at the paper.

"But...I-I don't remember...I...How...?"

Alva gently pried Paul's shaking hands off the file and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Paul. However, I do not expect you to remember this incident...When one suffer a terrible ordeal; one tends to lose their memory about it."

Paul shook his head, dumbfounded and confused. "But...but how did you-?"

"Well, you see, I was researching about our next case."

"Next case?" Paul's brow furrowed.

"Yes. Your past is somehow connected to our case." Alva put a comforting hand on Paul's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shown you...I just thought you would have liked to know the truth."

Paul's expression darkened. "Liked?"

"Uh...bad choice of words, I know..."

"Liked?!" Paul stood up, glaring at Alva. Usually he would never lose his temper, but right now, nothing seemed to matter anymore. "I just found out I had a little brother, Keel! You brought back my past, when I spent all those years trying to forget! Now look what you had done! All those years-WASTED!"

Paul stormed out of the office, seething with rage and pain. He pushed past the shocked Evelyn who was clearly confused at his sudden madness.

"Paul? What-"

Paul hurried past her, grabbed his coat and slammed out of the building. Fresh air struck him, and it cooled him down a bit. His eyes reflected turmoil and pain, as he hurried to the park. He needed time to think. His heart was now freshly cut and bleeding, as he remembered that horrible night. He was shocked that he could forget his own brother, but that night had been just so horrifying, that he had to forget about everything linking to it. He clenched his teeth and he crossed the road.

_How could Alva do that to me? How could he not see how it would affect me? Is he so blunt after all?_

Paul Callen was so wrapped up in his despair, that he never saw the car speeding towards him.


	3. The Three Words

Paul was on the road.

He was awake, but he felt numb. He could not hear, feel or smell anything. However, he could clearly see the people hurrying towards him, silently screaming. He could see the blood on the road, spreading out further and growing larger.

Paul was frightened yet confused.

"What happened?" He tried to say, but nothing would come out of his throat.

He glanced over to the blood, which became clear that it was his, and was slightly surprised to see letters forming.

Suddenly, Paul felt the pain. It washed over him in such an intense force, that he screamed out in agony. His senses not only awoke, but also were in overdrive. Screaming, his and the people's around him, filled his ears. The smell of burning, gas and blood made him feel sick, and the pain...the pain was surely going to kill him.

He writhed in agony, and he blindly struggled to free himself from the cruel bindings of the anguish.

He twisted over to his side, and, through the hazy mist of torturous agony, saw three words formed in his own blood.

Paul gave one last writhe before blackness swallowed him up.

He went limp, as his breathing stopped altogether.

Three words falling from his pale lips.

"GOD IS NOWHERE"


	4. Out in the Open

"Welcome back Paul!!"

Paul smiled as he entered the SQ headquarters. A banner was crookedly put up with 'Welcome Back!' scrawled in childish writing, and Evelyn was holding a huge teddy bear.

Evelyn rushed up and hugged Paul. "How are you?"

"I'm good." Paul said.

Alva gave Paul a fleeting smile before they all sat down.

"Who made the banner?" Paul asked.

"Matty" Evelyn replied. "He missed you a lot."

"Yeah...well I would have come back sooner if you hadn't made me stay at the hospital longer."

"Well, I was worried."

An awkward silence filled the air as Paul and Evelyn stared at each other. Evelyn's words echoed in the air, and Paul realized how beautiful she was looking today...

"Ahem." Alva coughed and he broke the silence. "Now, I think it is an appropriate time to pop the wine bottle open?"

They sat in silence as Alva poured the drinks, and Paul knew he had to tell Alva what he had seen that day.

"Alva..."

Alva looked up at Paul. "Yes?"

Paul glanced at Evelyn's curious face, and then decided to tell her too. After all, she is part of this too.

"I don't mean to be a party pooper or anything...But I just think I need to get this out in the open."

"What is it Paul?" Evelyn asked gently.

Paul breathed in deeply. "When I got hit...I saw my blood..." He paused. "It...It was forming words."

Alva hissed through his teeth. "God is now here?"

Paul shook his head. "God is nowhere." He whispered.

Evelyn frowned and Alva blanched.

"But...how...?" Alva muttered.

Paul shrugged. "I don't know. But this means...this must mean that it's getting closer."

"What's getting closer? What's going on Paul?" Evelyn demanded.

Paul shook his head and he looked up at them both.

"The Darkness," he said.


	5. Unanswered Answers

"The Golden Boys." Alva slammed the file down in front of Evelyn and Paul.

"Golden Boys...?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "Like that prince story? What was it...um...-Golden Prince? Sad Prince? Argh...Can't remember..."

Paul smiled.

"No, no. Nothing like that at all. Golden Boys are a legend that goes back to the around the 1600s..."Alva frowned. "...I think...Anyway, they are the cursed ghosts of the sons who were murdered by their mothers."

Paul blanched. "Killed by their mothers...?"

Alva stiffened. He glanced warily at Paul, as if expecting him to run out and be hit by a car all over again.

"Yes, Paul. They are apparently very beautiful and they glow a bright golden glow-hence, the name Golden Boy. Legend has it, that if you see a Golden Boy, you will either suffer a horrible and painful death, or you will have extremely bad luck for the rest of your life."

Paul snorted. "Not much choice is there."

Evelyn laughed.

Alva frowned deeper. His eyes rested onto Paul's for a long while before continuing. "Now, our case is Maggie Thompson. On May 23, she claimed to have seen a Golden Boy, saying that it looked exactly like her long dead son, Mark. She deteriorated soon after, and is currently in the Harrington Psychiatric Hospital. Her sister, Diane Johnston, asked us to see if what Maggie saw was just a part of her imagination...or true."

Paul nodded. "So...Golden Boy...she killed her son?"

Alva shrugged. "Mark died of leukemia. So when he died, the doctors said he died from it. But no-one really can tell."

Evelyn glanced over the file. "So, when do we start?"

"Right now," Alva said, grabbing his coat.

As they began to leave, Paul drew Alva aside.

"Alva...what does this case have to do with my past? You said that when you were researching this case, you found that article..."

Alva shook his head. "I don't know...but apparently this case does have some painful similarities to your past. Whether Maggie Thompson killed her son or not...We shall soon see."

Paul struggled with his rising emotions. "But Alva...Slap me if I'm wrong, but this case has no links to my past. I just don't understand how you could have found out about John...Johnson, at all! It doesn't make any sense..."

"Paul, as much as I wish I could help...I just can't. I found this case linked with your past...and that's all I know. Maybe the Thompson family is relations of yours...? No? Well then...I have to say I'm as lost as you are, Paul."

"But-"

"We shouldn't keep Evie waiting Paul."

Paul slumped and nodded.

Alva hurried out the door, and looked back over his shoulder. "I really am sorry Paul." Then he left down the stairs.

Paul clenched his teeth, his mind whirling.

The case...His past...The bloody message...The Darkness...The nightmares he keeps having about Tommy and that horrible night when he was twelve...And then about that night five days after Johnson and his mother died...when Paul was sent to the orphanage...

How are all these things linked? And what does Tommy want from Paul? After all those months, why did Tommy come back? What does the Darkness have to do with all of this? And why did the message change?

From GOD IS NOW HERE...to...

GOD IS NOWHERE...

Paul grabbed his cloak and headed out of the door. He couldn't help but feel, that the message meant that God had turned His back on Paul...forever.


End file.
